Search Site   
News Stories at a Glance
Deere 4440 cab tractor racked up $18,000 at farm retirement auction
Indiana legislature passes bills for ag land purchases, broadband grants
Make spring planting safety plans early to avoid injuries
Michigan soybean grower visits Dubai to showcase U.S. products
Scientists are interested in eclipse effects on crops and livestock
U.S. retail meat demand for pork and beef both decreased in 2023
Iowa one of the few states to see farms increase in 2022 Ag Census
Trade, E15, GREET, tax credits the talk at Commodity Classic
Ohioan travels to Malta as part of US Grains Council trade mission
FFA members learn about Australian culture, agriculture during trip
Timing of Dicamba ruling may cause issues for 2024 planting
   
Archive
Search Archive  
   
Alums promote Purdue ag during annual celebration

By ANDREA McCANN
Indiana Correspondent

FREELANDVILLE, Ind. — It was black and gold and green all over at Villwock Farms near Freelandville, Ind., on St. Patrick’s Day as Don and Joyce Villwock hosted the Knox County Purdue Ag Alumni Spring Meeting.

Roughly 60 ag alumni gathered for dinner and speakers in the Villwock’s “party barn,” formerly a pony barn for a mining company that lowered the ponies into the mine shaft to pull carts. Ag alums arriving early could tour Don Villwock’s new farm shop and the 50-year antique farm implement collection of his dad, Carl.

Knox County Purdue Ag Alumni chapter President Mike Swain said the spring meeting is an event that’s in a different part of the county each year. He said ag alums from neighboring counties are invited, as well. This year, there were alumni from Knox, Sullivan and Gibson counties in attendance.

“Every other year we invite potential Purdue students to advise them about Purdue,” Swain said, adding that someone from Purdue’s Office of Admissions also is on hand to speak to the students in those years. The chapter has an annual golf outing that raises funds for a scholarship named for the late Vincennes University professor, “Doc” Treese, and presented annually by his widow, Reva. The scholarship is awarded to a VU student transferring to Purdue in an agricultural field.

“It’s fully endowed,” Swain said of the scholarship. “We usually give $1,000.”

Although it’s fully endowed, Swain told Knox County Ag Alums on March 17, Ag Alumni Executive Secretary Donya Lester said tuition is rising, so they’ll need to kick in more.

Even with rising tuition and the poor economy - or maybe in spite of the economy - more students are expected in this year’s Purdue freshman class. Lester explained that when jobs are scarce, more people go to school.

Though student numbers are positive, Lester said the budget will be challenging. However, she expressed faith in new Dean of Agriculture Jay Akridge, and said, “Purdue Agriculture has always been resilient. We’ve always had just the right person at just the right time.”

Lester went on to explain that when international issues were at the forefront, the Ag dean was a specialist in that area.

When legislative issues were key, the Ag dean then was on top of the game. When research was a concern, the Ag dean at that time led the way. Now, when the economy is being viewed with trepidation, the current Ag dean is a food and agricultural business expert.

“He’s a good guy to have in charge when the economy is bad,” Lester said.

The evening’s special guest speaker, Fred Whitford, Director of Pesticide Programs at Purdue, also touched on the economy in his presentation on the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service.

“The budget’s not immaterial, but we’re still going to do (Extension work) no matter what,” he said. “Extension is still strong; it’s still needed.”

Whether it’s helping Indiana residents save money, or advising them on improvements for home and family, Extension specialists try to achieve long- and short-term impacts, Whitford said. He explained there are challenges to extending Extension-based knowledge to a diverse audience such as the residents of Indiana.

Sometimes it’s a matter of perspective, he said, regaling the audience with a story about a woman who wanted to thaw her turkey in the toilet so she could flush the cold water out and let the bowl refill on its own instead of letting water out of the sink and waiting for it to refill over and over as the turkey thawed.

Other times, it’s a matter of not understanding what’s going on. Whitford told another story about a gentleman whose spruce tree had brown needles. The man said the tree had been fine until it was toilet-papered. Whitford saw no signs of toilet paper in the tree - because the man had set it on fire to eliminate it, thus causing the brown needles.

When all else fails, Whitford leans on kids to educate their parents, and wives to keep their husbands in line, especially when it comes to farm safety. He’s been known to cause farmers to run to the farm store the day after a safety meeting for wives or children.
“One guy called me and said ‘Do you know what you’ve caused?’”
Whitford said, explaining the guy’s store had a run on safety equipment and didn’t have enough in stock for area farmers who’d been slacking off in the safety area. “‘There was one guy in here with a World War II gas mask looking for a cartridge.’”

At the end of the day, Whitford said, Extension specialists do what they do because they care, and they like to make a difference one person at a time.

“We’re blessed when we touch the lives of others and they leave a mark on our lives,” he said.

3/25/2009